Official 2016-2017 Cardiology Fellowship Application Cycle

[aspergilloma]

You said you came from a 'great' residency which clearly insinuates a top-tier program.

So you made four consecutive posts about an issue of semantics?

"Bad"
"Mediocre"
"Meh"
"Decent"
"Good"
"Great"
"Superb"
"Exemplary"

Please assign specific percentile ranges for either of these adjectives so that all of use can avoid offending your sensibilities in the future.

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[RIHD88]

It was in fact a great place for me. I never said top tier.

And congratulations on completely missing the point of the post. Keep up the good work.

The bigger issue is you lumping all international graduates into the same pool with generic, ill-informed sentiments.

Perhaps I should apply the same logic the next time a med student asks me whether they should obtain a PhD in addition to their MD. I'll say, 'no point in doing the PhD, because the best residency program you'll be able to attain is the average, middle-of-the-road OHSU'.

A great residency program for you isn't de facto a great residency program, as you stated above.

 

[RIHD88]

So you made four consecutive posts about an issue of semantics?

"Bad"
"Mediocre"
"Meh"
"Decent"
"Good"
"Great"
"Superb"
"Exemplary"

Please assign specific percentile ranges for either of these adjectives so that all of use can avoid offending your sensibilities in the future.

Rich coming from the guy who neurotically hounded the Pulm/ Crit forum for weeks!

To answer your question, I would list the programs you interviewed at for fellowship in the 'mediocre' and 'meh' categories. Hopefully that answers your question!

 

[aspergilloma]

Rich coming from the guy who neurotically hounded the Pulm/ Crit forum for weeks!

To answer your question, I would list the programs you interviewed at for fellowship in the 'mediocre' and 'meh' categories. Hopefully that answers your question!

So basically we don't get to read your percentile breakdowns, eh?

 

[RIHD88]

So basically we don't get to read your percentile breakdowns, eh?

In light of the fact that OHSU and BU were the only decent IVs you got, I'd imagine you matched at OHSU so I can understand your defensiveness.

 

[CardioLove23]

I'm not saying cards is out of the question for such an applicant. Just that, for someone in the above scenario, blindly stumbling forward as if you're going to get a cards fellowship no matter what happens (as Cards987 appears to have done), without some sort of alternative plan for your career, is foolish.

Hell, I'm an AMG from a great residency program, AOA with a PhD and I made a non-fellowship backup plan.

agree, regardless of what your background is and how strong your application is, you must ALWAYS plan for a backup because things don't always go as planned.

 

[aspergilloma]

In light of the fact that OHSU and BU were the only decent IVs you got, I'd imagine you matched at OHSU so I can understand your defensiveness.

So evasive. Why are you hesitant to share your wisdom with the forum?

 

[gutonc]

The bigger issue is you lumping all international graduates into the same pool with generic, ill-informed sentiments.

Perhaps I should apply the same logic the next time a med student asks me whether they should obtain a PhD in addition to their MD. I'll say, 'no point in doing the PhD, because the best residency program you'll be able to attain is the average, middle-of-the-road OHSU'.

A great residency program for you isn't de facto a great residency program, as you stated above.

JFC man. Who pissed in your Cheerios?

 

[RIHD88]

JFC man. Who pissed in your Cheerios?

Chime in with whatever vulgarity you will, but you're a racist. Looking through your posts, you disparage IMGs so much.

You're a cheerleader for the subsurface racism that is rife on SDN. Just look at the IM forums. Omnipresent in the 'cons' section is the prevalence of IMGs.

 

[RIHD88]

First off, big congrats to all who matched this year!
I am currently in the interview process for IM residency, and got some wonderful interviews from:
Pitt, Yale, BID, BU, UTSW, Mayo, UNC, Emory.
My goal is to pursue fellowship in cards, and frankly location isn't issue at all as long as I get the best clinical training.
I'd be curious to know your experiences and any other input regarding above residencies. How would you rank these amazing programs, if applicable? To me, I wish I could just train at them all
Also, how strong/competitive is Yale's cards program? For some reason, it doesn't strike me as being in the top league plus per US News rankings (though not totally sure if this really reflects the strength of fellowship training).

Your list is phenomenal and you'd be well served at any of those places. I interviewed at Yale for Cards fellowship and think they have an excellent program. I'm not a fan of the Mayo IM residency but believe it could get you where you want to go.

 

[loeffy]

First off, big congrats to all who matched this year!
I am currently in the interview process for IM residency, and got some wonderful interviews from:
Pitt, Yale, BID, BU, UTSW, Mayo, UNC, Emory.
My goal is to pursue fellowship in cards, and frankly location isn't issue at all as long as I get the best clinical training.
I'd be curious to know your experiences and any other input regarding above residencies. How would you rank these amazing programs, if applicable? To me, I wish I could just train at them all
Also, how strong/competitive is Yale's cards program? For some reason, it doesn't strike me as being in the top league plus per US News rankings (though not totally sure if this really reflects the strength of fellowship training).

Yale's cards program is pretty academic leaning and didn't come across as exceptionally strong clinically, but USNews has absolutely no bearing on the quality of the fellowship or even the hospital (to some degree). How those rankings are created, and how hospitals can affect them makes it a questionable source of info. Nevertheless, Yale is still a pretty competitive program, as are most recognizable university programs, but competitiveness does not necessarily correlate with program strength, even the weakest California and NYC programs can be very competitive due to its location. You'll have a good shot at matching at a solid cards program coming out of any of those IM programs and all of them will likely provide you with good enough IM training. All those programs can have pretty different vibes and cultures too, go with what feels best. Having said that, I can't speak about UNC and Emory, but I would put BID, UTSW and maybe Yale near the top. Yale seems to support research more which helps for fellowship, and BID is clinically robust and well-rounded though not as research intensive. I would also caution judging a program by its match list as there are so many layers to the fellowship match and the IM program's name is a relatively small part of it (at least amongst the IM programs you listed). You never know what an applicant looked like (chief, MD/PhD, pubs, letters, personality, location preference, etc.) and every cards programs has their own set of preferences.

 

[gutonc]

Chime in with whatever vulgarity you will, but you're a racist. Looking through your posts, you disparage IMGs so much.

You're a cheerleader for the subsurface racism that is rife on SDN. Just look at the IM forums. Omnipresent in the 'cons' section is the prevalence of IMGs.

Christ on a cracker man. I'm not sure how you think you "know me" so much. I'm not anti-IMG, I try to pain a realistic/practical picture for those people who are all "well my friend's uncle went to Ross and he's a Neurosurgeon now so I can do whatever I want".

 

[caspase1124]

I matched. I am also an IMG and got some good interviews from good programs. I have a green card and graduated from a good residency program with multiple papers and presentations. Having said that, I concur with all of feelings that there is a definite IMG bias in cardiology. Best is to keep working hard, continue to publish excellent research and then get a faculty position based on research and your academic potential which seems best way to answer this bias. Usually PDs including fellowship selection committee members are not very academic oriented and do not realize how well rounded candidates (strong in patient care, research and teaching) including IMGs (which they have a bias against) can improve/enhance their institution's prestige.

 

[caspase1124]

First off, big congrats to all who matched this year!
I am currently in the interview process for IM residency, and got some wonderful interviews from:
Pitt, Yale, BID, BU, UTSW, Mayo, UNC, Emory.
My goal is to pursue fellowship in cards, and frankly location isn't issue at all as long as I get the best clinical training.
I'd be curious to know your experiences and any other input regarding above residencies. How would you rank these amazing programs, if applicable? To me, I wish I could just train at them all
Also, how strong/competitive is Yale's cards program? For some reason, it doesn't strike me as being in the top league plus per US News rankings (though not totally sure if this really reflects the strength of fellowship training).

You have great interviews. Emory, UTSW, BID and Mayo are all great if you want to do cards. They all have excellent cardiology program and can give you a strong platform for research if you want to go to some other program. Pitt has a good IM residency but there is so much politics, unfortunately, in cardiology which is deeply affecting their cardiology rank when compared to other specialities. I have few friends and collaborators at UPMC who told me mostly they select those internal candidates who are favored by their PDs and associate PDs and not by based on their clinical strength and academic potential. After all, their cardiology chief is not a big name with out much research and God knows why he is the chief when they have some gurus in their faculty.

 

[Cards_2016_2017]

I matched. I am also an IMG and got some good interviews from good programs. I have a green card and graduated from a good residency program with multiple papers and presentations. Having said that, I concur with all of feelings that there is a definite IMG bias in cardiology. Best is to keep working hard, continue to publish excellent research and then get a faculty position based on research and your academic potential which seems best way to answer this bias. Usually PDs including fellowship selection committee members are not very academic oriented and do not realize how well rounded candidates (strong in patient care, research and teaching) including IMGs (which they have a bias against) can improve/enhance their institution's prestige.

I completely concur. I am an IMG, university residency on a J1 visa. I matched into a 'top 5' cards fellowship. There is no magic to this - it requires singleminded detemination, lots of publications, presentations and inclination for an academic career. The weight of your CV is probably the only way to beat the undercurrent of IMG bias as stated by others.

 

[amine2086]

First off, big congrats to all who matched this year!
I am currently in the interview process for IM residency, and got some wonderful interviews from:
Pitt, Yale, BID, BU, UTSW, Mayo, UNC, Emory.
My goal is to pursue fellowship in cards, and frankly location isn't issue at all as long as I get the best clinical training.
I'd be curious to know your experiences and any other input regarding above residencies. How would you rank these amazing programs, if applicable? To me, I wish I could just train at them all
Also, how strong/competitive is Yale's cards program? For some reason, it doesn't strike me as being in the top league plus per US News rankings (though not totally sure if this really reflects the strength of fellowship training).

I am a PGY-3 who just matched into cardiology fellowship. I interviewed at many of the programs on your list for both IM residency and cards fellowship. First of all, US news and world report ranking should not be taken into consideration while looking at residency or fellowship. That particular ranking system has very little to do things that matter during fellowship and residency (e.g. mentorship, quality of clinical training, teaching, opportunities for research, etc).

It is also important to remember that strong IM program does not equal to strong cards program. I think Yale is a good example of that. Their IM program appeared to be very strong (with great residents and excellent fellowship match every year) but I was not particularly impressed with their cards program (relatively new PD, acting chief of cardiology, not strong research wise although is trying to get better in this arena, relatively low procedure volume, etc).

 

[indprec]

First off, big congrats to all who matched this year!
I am currently in the interview process for IM residency, and got some wonderful interviews from:
Pitt, Yale, BID, BU, UTSW, Mayo, UNC, Emory.
My goal is to pursue fellowship in cards, and frankly location isn't issue at all as long as I get the best clinical training.
I'd be curious to know your experiences and any other input regarding above residencies. How would you rank these amazing programs, if applicable? To me, I wish I could just train at them all
Also, how strong/competitive is Yale's cards program? For some reason, it doesn't strike me as being in the top league plus per US News rankings (though not totally sure if this really reflects the strength of fellowship training).

Just a question for RIHD88, loeffy, caspase1124, amine2086:

I also want to ask about the list posted by MoleculeD from a cardiology standpoint. Since you all shared knowledge of these programs in your posts, how would you rank their actual cardiology fellowships?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[amine2086]

Just a question for RIHD88, loeffy, caspase1124, amine2086:

I also want to ask about the list posted by MoleculeD from a cardiology standpoint. Since you all shared knowledge of these programs in your posts, how would you rank their actual cardiology fellowships?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

My opinion (whatever it's worth):
BIDMC>Mayo>Emory=UTSW>BU>Yale

Don't know too much about Pitt or UNC's cardiology programs.

 

[thierryhenry]

Chime in with whatever vulgarity you will, but you're a racist. Looking through your posts, you disparage IMGs so much.

You're a cheerleader for the subsurface racism that is rife on SDN. Just look at the IM forums. Omnipresent in the 'cons' section is the prevalence of IMGs.

Deep burn here.

 

[loeffy]

Just a question for RIHD88, loeffy, caspase1124, amine2086:

I also want to ask about the list posted by MoleculeD from a cardiology standpoint. Since you all shared knowledge of these programs in your posts, how would you rank their actual cardiology fellowships?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

It really depends what you want out of fellowship. I'm not too familiar with UNC, Emory or BU, but the others have various strengths and weaknesses. Pitt is pretty balanced clinically with seemingly good volumes, but pushed research hard. Yale and UTSW is research heavy and not the most clinical. BID is pretty balanced all around with good research and clinical opportunities, but lacking in HF (no transplants and limited lvad), Mayo can lack clinically in regards to autonomy and broad training. Ranking is subjective and can vary depending on a person's career interests, personality or personal life, I ranked programs highly that others ranked low and vice versa.

 

[19772016]

I completely concur. I am an IMG, university residency on a J1 visa. I matched into a 'top 5' cards fellowship. There is no magic to this - it requires singleminded detemination, lots of publications, presentations and inclination for an academic career. The weight of your CV is probably the only way to beat the undercurrent of IMG bias as stated by others.

Congrats
Are you still in residency? I did not match this year.I have all that you have plus US citizenship but i have been out of residency and could not apply for the last few years due to a medical set back. I will miss cardiology...Still thinking about options.

 

[Surgeongirl]

Hello everyone, I am currently premed and have been accepted to two schools, one MD and one DO. I honestly would love to go to either one and I am just wondering if anyone here who might be a DO or MD can provide some insight into how difficult it would be to obtain a quality residency as a DO versus an MD and then subsequently obtaining a good fellowship for instance in Cardio which is my top interest right now. Also, will this even matter when the merger occur in terms of being a DO or MD as long as you do well on the USMLE? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[nephro007]

Plea to all cardio applicants. Good luck in your career and wish you all match where you want to go.
In the unfortunate scenario that you go unmatched, DO NOT TAKE NEPHROLOGY SCRAMBLE SPOT. WE HAVE A CRISIS IN NEPHRO WITH NO JOBS AND UNLESS SPOTS DON'T GET FILLED IT WILL CONTINUE. If you don't match become hospitalist and apply later. PLEASE